The present invention relates generally to animal farming, and more particularly to an apparatus for manipulating the bedding material in an animal stall.
In the larger animal farming operations today, animals are kept in stalls that are generally separated by railings. Cows in particular are kept in these types of stalls, commonly know as “free stalls.” These stalls are arranged in large rows that are separated by alleys. At the rear of the stall is a relatively short curb, and at the front of the stall, a low wall known as a brisket board. Between the curb and the brisket board is a bedding material such as sand, ground rubber, ground nut shells, sawdust or the like.
After the animal has resided in a free stall for a period of time, the bedding tends get mashed down and arranged in a less than ideal fashion. For example, certain animals such as cows prefer that the bedding slope upward toward the brisket board. After a period of time, the bedding will become mostly horizontal, and some of it will have spilled over the curb. It is desirable to groom the bedding for several reasons. First, it introduces air into the bedding to dry it and retard growth of anaerobic bacteria. Second, it fluffs the bedding to make it more soft and comfortable. Finally, for animals that prefer a slope, the grooming process should make the bedding sloped in accordance with that preference.
An apparatus for grooming the bedding with free stalls was disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,253, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. While such an apparatus is useful for prolonging the useful life of bedding, at some point in time the bedding within the stalls will need to be refreshed or replaced. Conventional methods of removing all or a portion of the bedding for replacement have required either a large amount of physical labor or required a machine that would need to be inserted within each stall of the free stall area individually. Such a mechanical process is quite time consuming and may subject the railings between stalls to inadvertent damage by the machine.
In addition, conventional approaches to lifting bedding material over the curb and into the alley for removal may result in damage to the curb or the bedding removal equipment.
Improvements to conventional approaches to the removal of bedding from free stalls or similar livestock housing arrangements are desirable.